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Time warner probably figures no one cares that much if they don't carry the station since people can toss an HD antenna up. I am going to the game but otherwise would head to Sportsmans Landing in Wind Lake.

richmuskego - WTMJ could easily end this dispute. In 1995 the FCC enacted the "must carry" rules that cover WTMJ. The kicker is TWC would then not be required to pay. You are correct, the consumers hold the hammer. However, this hammer needs to fall on more than TWC. And for the record, I have u-verse and I am glad I do! HATED TWC.

TMJ really screwed this up for everyone. This is in no way the fault of Time Warner. TMJ wants more and more money and us the Packer fans are going to suffer. I personally think it is going to be funny when people do not want to advertise with TMJ because their ratings are so low.

First preseason game, not a big deal. Obviously Dudek is under orders to make an issue out of it and keep pimping WTMZ. But the fact is no TWC customers, other than JBG employees, even notice it's been gone.

" "might be protracted" and last from ten days to six weeks,....."--Hold that thought gentleman.And continue to hold it.Now, its mid Sept, and no movement, or head way seen.Several "Football Night in America" has passed.

Kstein, -- that is a reference to the dispute between Time Warner Cable and CBS owned and operated TV stations. There is far less money involved in the TWC dispute with Journal Broadcast Group. The Milwaukee and Green Bay/Appleton markets have a much lower number of "households using television" thus less money is at stake for the two parties.

Why do we allow Time Warner (or any cable company) to be a monopoly? I would like to switch from Time-Warner to another CABLE company but there isn't one. Time Warner is a monopoly and they act exactly like one. Loosen the strangle-hold on consumers and force TWC to share the cable lines with competitors.

Actually Time Warner Cable does have competition, but this depends upon where you live. ATT's U-Verse availability continues to expand. I do not understand how U-Verse works, but it's my understanding it's broadband cable through twisted pairs of copper telephone wire. Even if you rent an apartment or flat, if ATT U-Verse is available in your neighborhood, you should be able to subscribe if ATT phone lines lead into your building. There is also satellite -- Dish Network and Direct TV. Both are great options for homeowners, but things get much trickier if you own a condo or rent an apartment. Many apartment complexes have provisions in leases banning the attachment of antennas including satellite dishes on roofs, balcony railings and walls. In some cases, the dish can be pole mounted in the ground outside your unit, pole mounted into a 5-gallon pail filled with concrete or even held in place with four cement blocks outside your unit.

To allow a second cable company into a community would usually mean a second company stringing coaxial cable on existing utility poles owned by either WE Energies or ATT. This would only happen if cable co. "B" agreed to pay pole rent. Municipal franchise fees of course would be a broken out separate line item on your monthly billing statement.

The reason for the cable monopoly is the same reason we had a phone monopoly for many decades. From what I've been told, nearly 100 years ago, some communities had more than one phone company. Of course those were magneto crank phones which required an operator to complete calls. Two things resulted. First, each had to string separate phone lines which resulted in obvious line clutter visually. Next, there was no interconnect ability since the two companies were competing for business using this new telephone technology. Then there were those without phone service because phone companies felt the population density was not sufficient to justify putting poles in the ground and stringing cable. Thus the concept of "universal service" was developed. It was felt the telephone was an essential piece of technology in people's homes and thus it should be exempt from the then new anti-trust (monopoly) laws. The idea was the government would grant a phone company the right to be a monopoly in a given area, but in exchange, the government would regulate price for service and the levels of service to be provided. Later, this was applied to electrical utilities.

The NFL knows the Packers are one of the more popular teams right up there with the Pittsburg Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and Oakland Raiders. If the Journal Broadcast Group dispute with Time Warner Cable lasts until the start of the regular season, which is unlikely, the NFL may very well put pressure on the two parties. That scenario is more likely if the Packers are scheduled to play a Sunday night game on NBC. (WTMJ-TV 4 in Milwaukee and WGBA-TV 26 in Green Bay are both NBC affiliates.)

CBS in Chicago, (WBBM), is currently blacked out has it is also part of mychoices in Kenosha. We do have the luxury of having both cities feedscoming into our area. While I haven't check, but will, CBS usually willhave some pre-season Bear games, and believe me, if those boys arenot on TV there will be a shiet storm>

The solution to this is really simple. You jut need to purchase an antenna, some coaxial cable and an A/B switch. Just set up the antenna, attach the coax cable, and connect it to one of the two inputs on the A/B switch. Then connect Time Warner's cable to the other input on the A/B switch. Then attach a short piece of coaxial cable between your TV or cable converter and the other end to the output of the A/B switch.

Then you simply switch the A/B switch to the antenna input -- I recommend using the "A" input -- when you want to watch WTMJ-TV 4 or NBC. When you want to watch the cable channels, just push the "B" button on the switch.

The antenna also comes in handy in the event the cable goes out in the event of rain, severe weather, or a traffic accident damaging a utility pole.

To watch over the air TV, you will either need an HDTV, a TV which has an ATSC (digital TV signal) tuner, or an analog to digital TV signal converter box if you have a TV with an analog signal tuner. The 2009 digital TV signal conversion really only applied to those Luddites like myself who do not subscribe to cable or satellite TV)

If you get a $150 TiVo Premier (NOT the more expensive Premier 4, which doesn't work with broadcast TV), you don't even need the A/B switch. You return your old cable box or DVR and plug both the cable line and the antenna into separate jacks on the back of the TiVo. On a TiVo, you can then choose between cable channels (always an integer channel number like 4 or 704) and broadcast channels (always with a decimal point at the end like 4.1 or 4.2); yes the TiVo remote has a decimal point button.

If you plan to hook up the TiVo to cable, you also need to rent a cablecard from your cable company. TiVo does not work with satellite or U-verse, but it does work with cable and Verizon Fios. One other expense with TiVo--you must either pay $15/month (or an additional $500 one-time fee).

I have an older TiVo and used to have TWC, and felt that the broadcast signal (through the TiVo) was sharper than the HiDef signal from TWC through their DVR. (For a few weeks I had both the TWC DVR and the TiVo hooked up before I cancelled the TWC.)

Right now I wish I had money to invest in Radio Shack stock. No doubt Radio Shack and other electronics stores are doing brisk business in TV antennas and accessories for connecting to over the air signals in Milwaukee, Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, and cities where CBS owned and operated stations are blacked out.